Arts, Briefly; Nascar Smooths Fox's Ride

By KATE AURTHUR; Compiled by Lawrence Van Gelder

Published: June 27, 2006

Nascar spilled into prime time on Sunday, which meant that Fox won the night among adults 18 to 49. After the race, repeats of Fox's animated comedies either won or tied their half-hour slots in that demographic. In Nielsen's estimates, a 9 p.m. ''Family Guy'' (6.61 million) was second only to the Nascar broadcast among 18-to-49-year-olds. In the total viewer category, CBS won easily. Its ''60 Minutes'' (9.25 million) was the most-watched show of the night, and a rerun of ''Cold Case'' (8.22 million) also brought in a large audience for a summer Sunday. ABC, which dominated Sundays during the regular season, placed third in the 18-to-49 demographic and fourth, behind NBC, among total viewers. Its repeats of ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' at 8 p.m. (6.07 million) and ''Grey's Anatomy'' at 10 p.m. (6.61 million) fared well, but the ''Desperate Housewives'' rerun (4.51 million) sandwiched between them wiped out. KATE AURTHUR